symbolon
by winterbranwen
Summary: "I'm not your soulmate, kid. There's only one name on me and it ain't yours."
1. part one

_So I'm in love with soulmate au's and I've written one before for Qrow/Winter, there's still a thousand more variations._

 _This is one where you're born with your soulmate's name written on you. There are rare possibilities where you are born blank, or that a name appears on you after you grow to care for a person deeply enough. Those, however, are platonic soulmates and are more friendship focused than romantic._

She is only seventeen when her soulmate rejects her. Winter isn't quite sure what she expected from him. He was a perfect stranger, after all.

She just had hoped that the stories were true. The stories Klein had whispered to her and Weiss late at night, the beautiful tales about true love and the beauty of knowing that there was someone out there meant for you.

The name had always been a source of comfort for her. When her Parents grew loud a few rooms over, their screams and accusations rattling the walls, Winter would run her thumb over the name. She hoped that wherever this person was, they could feel her reaching out.

Qrow Branwen. His name was written in a messy, close together scrawl across her shoulder.

When she finds him, she feels her body go rigid. There he was, gorgeous and tall- a bit older than she had anticipated but handsome all the same-and everything she had hoped for. And the illusion had been shattered when he reached for the flask at his hip and messily gulped.

"I'm not your soulmate, kid. There's only one name on me and it ain't yours."

She could smell the alcohol on him and her stomach had rolled with worry and disgust.

"That isn't possible." She had retorted, stepping towards him. She had been so eager, so ready to accept him and this- but he jerked away, stopping her in her tracks with a dark, warning look.

Her hands fell to her side, fists clenching. Fury coiled in her belly, white hot and aching. She reached up to the buttons of her shirt, fingers shaking furiously as she unbuttoned them and tore the shoulder down.

She felt ridiculous, baring her skin to him. "This, this is you. This is your name." She said, forcefully, feeling foolish and so angry.

His eyes fell on the name imprinted in black across her collar bone. She was silent, hoping he would speak up and just confess. But he shook his head.

He rolled his sleeve just over his wrist, lifting his hand to show her the name written in dainty cursive across his skin. Summer Rose.

"Sorry." He said, shortly, sounding anything but.

"I don't understand."

He shrugged, adjusting his sleeve. "Believe me, you dodged a bullet." He informed her.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. There were occurrences of unrequited soulmates, but they were rare. Surely she couldn't be-

"I don't know what to do." She admitted.

He capped the flask and shoved it into the pocket on his hip. He met her gaze and she felt a pleasant warmth spread through her. How could he not feel the same?

"You keep living. Move on. You'll be better off."

She tore her gaze away.

"Take care of yourself, Winter."

When she looked back, he was gone. There was an ache in her, longing and sinking into her bones. She stood there for a moment, the warmth she had previously been enveloping in fading into a frigid cold.

Then- a flutter of hope.

She had never told him her name.


	2. part two

second part to the symbolon soulmate au, from qrow's perspective.

Her name had been printed across his chest for as long as he could remember. She had always been with him, in delicate, curling cursive in black ink across his heart.

Raven had teased him relentlessly about it when they were children. It wasn't until they were older that he realized why. Schnee was a name that bore weight. It meant something. Power, wealth, status.

And he- he was an orphan from a nameless village.

He tried to stifle that hope he felt, that stubborn heat within him that grew worse when he touched her name.  
It wasn't until he entered Beacon and learned more about the Schnees, what they were doing and what their company allowed, that he truly forced himself to ignore the name.

Her name was easily covered, but not so easily forgotten. There would be a faint warmth at times and he would be overwhelmed with emotions. Fear was most common, like a sharpness that went as quickly as it came. Then hope, ebbing and curling around his chest like a vice.

She was not easily ignored.

Still, he tried.

He fell in love at Beacon, with a girl who loved hard and seemingly fell for everyone except him. She had only one name printed on her body, and it was not his. Summer Rose was a dear friend, easy to care for and even easier to love.

Her name appeared on his wrist when they were seventeen. He had been worried sick to his stomach and had searched desperately for Winter's name. She was still there, standing guard over his heart as always.

He knew what Summer's name meant. Platonic soulmates were regarded just as highly as romantic ones. She was his dearest friend, and when she waved her wrist frantically before his face to show off his name, he decided this would be enough.

Everything went to shit after that. He lost Raven, lost Summer, and nearly lost Taiyang to his grief. And then he unknowingly found her.

Winter had stumbled into his life at the most inconvenient moment. He was half drunk, sleep deprived and angry at the world. He was on a mission through Atlas on Ozpin's directive.

And he had seen her, staring at him with impossibly blue eyes, and he hated her. He hated her with every fiber of his being. She was here, glowing in the muted greys of Atlas, and he had never resented her more for it.

She had reached for him, looking so desperate and confused at his response and he jerked away from her. Her name was aching and he wanted nothing more than to let her touch ease the fire raging beneath his skin.

It was easier if he said no, easier if she hated him. She was someone. She had a future, had a chance of some semblance of happiness. He was poison. Those around him only suffered.

Nothing he could give her would match the life she would lead here. She was safe, far from the tragedy that seemed to follow him.

So he turned his back to her.

"Take care of yourself, Winter."

He didn't realize his mistake until he touched her name that night.


End file.
